One of Australia’s largest pub owner operators, Redcape Hotel Group, has snapped up the top-performing Crown Hotel in Revesby for more than $30 million.
Coming in at #19 on the OLGR list of gaming venues, the Crown is Redcape’s largest acquisition to date. PubTIC spoke to Redcape, but the company was unable to comment on the matter.
The sale was reported in The Australian as being brokered by JLL Hotels. PubTIC spoke to JLL national director – pub investment sales, John Musca, but he was also unable to comment on the subject.
The Crown acquisition brings the Group’s portfolio to 30 venues, after the recent purchases of Eastwood’s Landmark Hotel for around $28 million, and the Eastern Creek Hotel for around $10 million – both through Ray White Hotels, in late 2014.
Redcape’s owners – US hedge funds Värde and York Capital – have been dodging speculation of a $400 million float, rumoured to be slated for later this year.
In late 2013, Redcape spun off HPI (Hotel Property Investments) as an investment vehicle, boasting a portfolio of around 40 venues, most landlord to Coles and ALH-operated pubs.
HPI enjoyed a lot of success in 2014, acquiring venues such as the ALH-tenanted Magnums Airlie Beach and Coles-tenanted The Wallaby on the Gold Coast, both brokered also through Ray White. It was flagged as one of the best-performing IPOs on the ASX last year.
Despite consistent refusal to discuss the potential for a float of the other half of the Redcape purchased by Värde, York Capital and Goldman Sachs in 2011/12 for more than $600 million, the $100 million of recent strategic purchases and overall success of HPI has investors eyeing the increasing likelihood of another impending IPO.
